Glasses
by puddingcup
Summary: McCoy's first real case as a doctor and he gets an interesting teenage girl. Can she help him see what he needs to do with his life? Rated T for mentioned deaths later on and maybe other things later. Pre-McCoy's involvement in Starfleet
1. First Assignment

**Okay, so this was probably a bad time to think of this story, but I wanted to post it so that way I would finish it rather than leaving it on my computer to rot like most of my other stories.**

**It is bad timing because I probably won't be able to update as often as I would like since I'm going to be taking a summer college course (starts in less than a month) and I probably won't be able to concentrate on anything but the work I'm given since it's a class that would usually take a full school year but this one only lasts for about 4 and 1/2 weeks (sounds insane but the way they set it up makes sense).**

**Anyway, now that I've bored you with that, I'll tell you a little bit about the story (Sorry if the timeline is a little funny where McCoy is concerned... I tried to get everything to fit)  
**

**The girl is my Original Character that I use in almost all my Star Trek stories (I haven't posted any others but I might someday) and she is the younger sister of Jim Kirk (by about two years). Her role tends to change depending on the story, but here she's just a teenager on the brink of adulthood.**

**McCoy has just finished Med School and is a doctor (this is the first hospital he works at). He and his wife are going through a rough patch in their marriage (I think we all know how that ends) so he uses work as a kind of vacation from his marriage problems to focus on helping other people and their problems.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Trek and, no matter how much I wish I do, I never will.**

**Characters: McCoy and a bunch of OCs (You see a little bit of the Kirk family too)**

**Genre: Friendship (Maybe a little bit of Angst?)  
**

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_2 April 2253- Region previously known as 'Georgia'_

The doors opened automatically to allow a family of five into the lounge of the Benjamin M. Jones Hospital. Dr. Leonard McCoy, sitting behind a desk at the reception counter, watched as the father, a man who was obviously the product of many years of service to Starfleet, approached the counter and quietly took care of whatever business needed to be attended to. McCoy glanced over at the rest of the family and took note of their actions as he figured this would be the first case in his new career he would be head doctor of.

The mother, a slim, blonde haired woman with a kind face, looked rather nervous and distressed, obviously affected by whatever it was that caused their family to come to the hospital. She fidgeted with the suitcase until the oldest son took her hand in his. She smiled weakly up at his sympathetic face.

The oldest son, who could have passed for his father's twin had there not been an age difference, had brownish-gold hair (McCoy noted that all three children and their father had this color hair) that was slightly longer than his father's and younger brother's. He must have been somewhere in his late-twenties, early-thirties.

Next was the younger son. There was no doubt that he was closely related to the older son and father as they all looked extremely similar. He wore a hard facial expression but McCoy could tell that he was deeply worried underneath. He was perhaps twenty; still young but old enough to take care of himself. The young man glanced at his sister for the shortest of moments with a sad look, though it was obvious he was trying to hide it, on his face.

Finally, McCoy looked at the sister who was the most interesting by far. She did not share the look of concern or sorrow the rest of her family had. Instead, she wore a rather happy, interested facial expression as she turned the page of her book. Next to her she had a guitar case and a very full looking backpack. She had glasses on her face, a rare thing to see with all the advanced medicines and eye surgery techniques they had available, a purple tank top with silver designs traveling diagonally in strips (strips that reminded McCoy of the old barber shop poles he saw in the historic parts of Georgia when he was younger) on her thin torso, light blue denim shorts on, and yellow flip flops on her feet. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun with long strands of hair that didn't quite stay hanging out lazily.

McCoy's attention was quickly diverted to the father again when the man walked back to his family and picked up one of the suitcases. McCoy realized whoever the patient was (he was betting it would be the girl) would be staying at the hospital for a while to receive better, more convenient care. The father followed one of the nurses down a hallway as the rest of the family followed quickly behind. McCoy turned to the girl and found she looked slightly irritated she had been disturbed from her reading.

McCoy tapped a few buttons on his computer console to bring up any patients the hospital was bringing in (which was very few, even for a specialized hospital such as this) and looked for long term patients. He was just about to look through the files when he heard a voice bark at him.

"Dr. McCoy," Dr. Jane Hartell said as she neared the desk he was currently sitting at. Dr. Hartell was the kind of woman who looked like she would break your neck for messing with her. She was the Chief of Staff at the hospital and was a very no nonsense person. Dr. Hartell was very well-known for her stern manner but in the month he had been at her (or at least, she acted like it was her hospital and was very proud of its prestige) hospital, McCoy heard her crack a few jokes and saw her give a smile to a patient or two from time to time.

"Yes, doctor?" McCoy asked as he respectfully gave her his full attention. She handed him a small Medical PADD that held information regarding a certain patient (McCoy had no doubt it would be the one who just walked in) that Hartell was assigning him to.

"Name, room number, everything is in there," Hartell said as she hurried off to the lady at the reception counter.

McCoy turned off the computer console he had previously been using, organized everything he had been working on earlier and placed them neatly in a stack out of the way and glanced down at the small device he held in his hand.

_Name: Rachel Elise Kirk_

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**Review please! If no one reviews, I won't post anymore of the story and probably won't finish it even for my personal amusement!!**

**Also, tell me if you saw any errors or anything :D **

**Any feedback welcome (try not to be TOO harsh on flames, please)!**

**I'll make the next chapters longer once things start happening!  
**


	2. Introductions

**whooo I actually got this done tonight! Anyway, I really hope some of you decide to continue reading this story...**

**I'll delete the AN after a while, but since I'm uploading this chapter so soon after posting the AN, I figured it would have been pointless to post it separately as opposed to just adding it to this, and I'm too lazy to copy and paste, I'm just going to leave it up for now.**

**Anyway, I know this isn't the great chapter I wish I could write for making you all wait so long, but I guess it's got some important info on it :D**

**Disclaimer: I own none of this... however, my dad just bought me the new Star Trek movie so I own that!! just not the rights to it :D**

**Please review when you're done reading this. Reviews make me happy!  
**

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McCoy looked up from the PADD just in time to watch the family as they walked out of sight. He quickly followed them but did not interfere with the nurse's tour. He kept his eyes on the daughter, Rachel, as she observed everything around her. She seemed to carry an air of constant curiosity as she looked through every open door and even waved at some of the people she met along the tour. Wondering more about the girl, he took a quick glance at the PADD again.

_Name: Rachel Elise Kirk_

_Sex: Female_

_Age: 17.8 Earth Years_

_Home: Riverside, Iowa, Earth, Sol System_

_Parents: Cmdr. George S. Kirk Sr. (52.4) & Winona M. Kirk (50.7)_

_Siblings: George S. Kirk Jr. (26.5) & James T. Kirk (20.0)_

_Occupation: Student at Starfleet Academy_

McCoy sensed a pair of eyes watching him and looked up to see Rachel staring at him curiously from across the hallway before her father placed a hand on her shoulder to bring her back to the tour. McCoy smirked to himself as he skimmed the rest of the listed information on the PADD and hurried along to follow the Kirk family, being careful to stay a considerable distance away.

When the tour finally ended which was slightly later than it should have been since Rachel asked to see every room open to the patients, the nurse showed Rachel to her room and her family brought her luggage in.

"Oh, it looks so nice in here," Mrs. Kirk commented, obviously feigning excitement. Her fake cheerfulness didn't surprise McCoy. Most mothers disliked having their children in hospitals, especially when the child was in extended stay.

"I like the deep blue and ivory scheme," Rachel agreed as she sat on the soft bed. "It's nicer than my dorm room, anyway," she grinned. The girl kicked off her yellow sandals and brought her legs up so she was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

McCoy knocked lightly on the door frame, startling Mrs. Kirk.

"I'm sorry," McCoy smiled at the woman, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I wasn't expecting you to come so soon," she laughed somewhat nervously. "You're the doctor, right?"

"Yes," McCoy nodded. "My name is Dr. Leonard McCoy and I'm assuming you're Rachel?" McCoy turned to the girl on the bed who nodded.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. McCoy," Rachel replied and shook McCoy's hand. McCoy shook hands with the rest of her family as well.

"How long are you staying in town?" McCoy asked the Kirk family (excluding Rachel), trying to sound conversational.

"I don't think we've quite decided yet," Mr. Kirk replied but his daughter disagreed.

"They're staying for the day and leaving tomorrow," Rachel told the doctor. She turned to her family. "You really shouldn't be away from the farm too long and you all being here won't help me get better." Mr. Kirk sighed but gave in, knowing his daughter was right.

"Alright, well then I think we'll do a few quick tests and save the longer ones for tomorrow so you have time to spend with your family," McCoy told his patient. He took a few things out of his medical kit. "I'll need a blood sample first."

Though Rachel clearly didn't like the old fashioned needle McCoy used, the doctor eventually got a small amount of blood to test in the lab.

"And I hope you drank a lot of fluids today because now I'm going to need a urine sample," McCoy said as he handed Rachel an empty cup. Rachel caught her brothers snickering and gave them a look most women give when men are immature. "I believe your bathroom is through that door. Luckily, you won't have to share it with anyone while you're here." Rachel grinned, causing McCoy to smile in response. The girl had a contagious smile.

"Finally! No messy boys to deal with," she laughed and stuck her tongue out at her brothers.

The rest of McCoy's tests were finished quickly and McCoy was able to leave the family in peace. He sent the tests off to be examined and sat down on a couch in the faculty lounge. He pulled out the PADD with Rachel's records once again and read through the summary of her school records and medical past.

Rachel's life, though not completely ordinary, was normal for a girl with the opportunities she was presented with. She had skipped a grade early into her educational career and was hard-working student, not unusual for a Starfleet Commander's daughter, with no disciplinary records from her school.

She had gone to a psychologist approximately six years ago (her records didn't mention why, which McCoy found curious) but otherwise, as far as he could tell from her records, she had been perfectly healthy until about a three months ago when she began to fall ill for no apparent reason.

Her sicknesses didn't last for very long after she was given antibiotics, a few days at the most, but the doctors still couldn't understand why she was contracting and recovering from the illnesses at such a rapid pace. The antibiotics the doctors had been giving her worked until the bacteria became resistant to most of the medicines which was about a week ago.

Her previous doctor's records showed no evidence of her case being brought on by anything recent and her healthy past gave no clues as to if this was something she had acquired a long time ago and was only just now appearing. McCoy searched some records of any medicines or vaccinations Rachel had received throughout her life and found only one oddity.

About six years ago, Rachel had been given several vaccinations that most children wouldn't receive unless preparing to be exposed to a hostile environment.

McCoy leaned back into the soft couch and turned off the PADD, wondering why an eleven year old girl would receive vaccinations she didn't need.


	3. Family Life

**Ugh, I'm so bad at keeping promises. I'm so sorry it took me forever to get this posted. I knew exactly how I wanted this to go and yet I couldn't figure out how I wanted to write it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I wrote most of it tonight. I wouldn't allow myself to stop until I finished. That might explain why I feel kinda dizzy and the back of my head hurts. Ah, well. At least I'm rather happy with this chapter! I tried to make it longer since I felt so bad about not posting anything as soon as I wanted to.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters even though I wish I did.**

**oh, hehe and I was about to make an allusion (okay, I know that's not the exact word I'm looking for but it'll work for now) to Vulcans but I stopped myself. It felt too forced. But I do think I wrote 'fascinating' somewhere in here!  
**

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McCoy walked through the front door of his house and shut it carefully behind him, hoping not to alert the other occupants of his house to his presence but, of course, nothing escaped the curious four year old girl. Joanna came running to McCoy screaming "Daddy's home!" and clung to his legs until McCoy was able to pick up the little girl and lift her high over his head.

"And how are you today, my little Joey?" McCoy asked with a smile as he kissed her cheek and carried her into the kitchen.

"Good," the child grinned and reached for a picture on the kitchen counter. McCoy lowered Joanna just enough for her little hands to grab the paper. "I drew a picture in school today!" McCoy smiled as his daughter handed him the picture. "This is the daddy kangaroo, the mommy kangaroo and the baby kangaroo," Joanna told him as she pointed to each of the figures respectively.

"It's very good," McCoy commented and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Do you want to put it on the refrigerator?" Joanna nodded aggressively, causing McCoy to chuckle a little. McCoy walked over to the refrigerator and repositioned Joanna slightly so he could hold her with one arm and grab a magnet with his free hand. Joanna took the magnet from him and placed it and the picture of the kangaroo family on the refrigerator.

"Now you can see it every morning," Joanna said as she clapper her hands together in glee.

"Yep," McCoy agreed. "And do you know what a baby kangaroo is called?"

"Joey!" Joanna laughed. "Like me!"

"They bounce around about as much as you too," Joceyln teased as she appeared from behind McCoy, her sudden presence causing McCoy to jump slightly.

"You startled me!" he laughed and set Joanna down on the counter, "make some noise next time," he told her as he kissed her lightly.

"Well, that's a nice way to say hello," Jocelyn said, trying to pout but a smile seeped through her mask. She poured juice into a small cup and handed it to Joanna who sipped it happily.

"I'm sorry, darling," McCoy grinned and took his wife's hands. "How was your day?"

"Eh, nothing to complain about," Jocelyn shrugged, "but it's getting much better now that you're here," she added with smirk.

"I'm glad to help," McCoy grinned and bent his head down to give his wife a quick kiss. Their kiss earned them a squeal of disgust from Joanna who covered her eyes with her cup.

"Icky, icky!!" cried Joanna. Jocelyn laughed and picked her daughter up so that both she and McCoy could kiss the young girl's cheeks at the same time. Joanna laughed and squirmed, trying to escape from the affection of her parents. The two adults watched as Joanna ran to hide behind the couch and turn on the television.

Things calmed down for the time being. Jocelyn got out ingredients for dinner and McCoy sat down to sort the junk mail from the bills from the letters and occasionally watched his daughter as she laughed at the television, a new smile forming over his face at each shriek of happiness.

"Mommy, what's for dinner?" Joanna called over the sound of her children's show.

"Chicken, noodles, red sauce and a side of lettuce and baby carrots," Jocelyn replied. McCoy stifled a laugh and Jocelyn flashed him a smile. Joanna was still at the point in her childhood where she would not eat anything that had a 'funny name' such as chicken parmesan and salad.

Their dinner was filled with the sound of Joanna's retelling of how the mean Billy stole her markers and her best friend, Mary-Ann, shared half of her cookie with Joanna at lunch-time.

Jocelyn didn't have much to say about her day at work, which McCoy thought was slightly odd. Usually she had something to complain about. The only thing she felt important enough to mention was that a man named Clay Treadway started his first day at work in Jocelyn's building. McCoy started to frown at the mention of Treadway but Jocelyn promised him she was doing her best to stay away from her ex-boyfriend and that she hoped she wouldn't have to deal with him much if at all.

"And how was your day, dear?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. "Anything new at the hospital?"

"Did you save any lives today, daddy?" Joanna piped up excitedly. Joanna found the fact that her father dealt with sick people (and even some times blood and guts!) absolutely fascinating.

"Not today, Joey," McCoy replied with a soft smile. "But a new girl registered into extended care today."

"Really? What's the matter with her?"

"Not sure," McCoy replied, his earlier smile starting to fade. "It's something even the doctors at Starfleet Academy can't figure out and I haven't gotten all the reports back from my tests yet."

"Starfleet doctors don't know?" Jocelyn sounded surprised and not without reason. Doctors who had previously worked in space should, in theory, know more than McCoy since they had been exposed to more sicknesses and should have a better idea as to what was wrong.

"Not a clue. And her medical history doesn't show anything wrong but there does seem to be an inconsistency in some of the records and I can't figure out why." Jocelyn was silent for a moment as if to allow her husband to create a theory before speaking again.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope you're able to figure it out."

-

"I wish you would stop looking at me like that," snapped Jocelyn as she glared at McCoy.

"What am I doing?" McCoy asked back, feeling rather shocked. He and Jocelyn hadn't said much to each other after dinner so he really didn't understand what he had done wrong this time.

"You're looking at me like I've done something wrong, like I'm not telling you something! I'm not going to run off with Clay if that's what you're thinking!" Jocelyn growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," McCoy promised, an irritated tone seeping into his voice. "And I wish you would stop assuming that I'm always thinking the worst. I'm not worried about you running off with that man because I know how hurt you were the last time he was around and I know you're smart enough not to put yourself through that again!"

"Well, you've still got that worried, upset look on your face so just stop it," Jocelyn ordered.

"What look? I wasn't even looking at you so calm down!" McCoy turned back to face the television just in time to see Joanna run past him and up the stairs. McCoy felt a pang in his stomach, ashamed that he had scared his daughter with his and Jocelyn's shouting. It was their second major fight and the last time they fought, McCoy promised Joanna he and mommy wouldn't yell at each other anymore, another reason why he felt ashamed with himself.

"I'll get her," McCoy said softly as Jocelyn sighed and turned back to washing the dishes by hand since their dishwasher was temporarily broken.

McCoy didn't have any trouble finding his daughter. Last time, she had run up to the attic and hid among the storage and McCoy didn't have any doubts that she would pick that place again.

McCoy climbed the narrow stairs to get up to the attic and immediately found Joanna huddled in a corner. She looked up at him with sad eyes and McCoy took it as an invitation to sit next to her.

"You said you wouldn't yell anymore," Joanna murmured after a few minutes. McCoy didn't have a reply so he was silent.

"Sometimes, people just have bottled up emotions and then they can't hold them anymore," McCoy said after he felt he had been quiet long enough. "Like a balloon with too much air."

"Can't you tie the balloon before it blows it all back out?" Joanna's innocent face caused McCoy to chuckle.

"I suppose sometimes that works but most times, the balloon would just explode with too much pressure. Joanna was silent and pensive for a moment. McCoy almost expected his daughter to say something that even professors of philosophy would be shocked and amazed at but Joanna had something less philosophical to say.

"When the weekend comes, can we get a bunch of balloons and fill our house with them?" McCoy couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I suppose we could."

"That way we can practice tying the balloons," Joanna grinned.

After a few more moments of silence, they heard footsteps and soon the door opened to reveal Jocelyn with a tray of cookies and milk.

They all ate cookies and talked about simple things until Joanna fell asleep on McCoy's lap. Jocelyn smiled and rested her hear on McCoy's shoulder and McCoy placed his head on hers.

"I'm sorry," Jocelyn sighed. "I shouldn't have shouted. I'm just… stressed. I just don't want Clay here."

"Don't worry about him," McCoy muttered and placed his arm around her shoulders. "I'll always be here if you need to talk." They were silent again until McCoy yawned and Jocelyn laughed.

"You should take Joey to bed and then go to bed yourself," Jocelyn said. "You look like you need it." McCoy did so without fuss. He did indeed need sleep after the day he survived.

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**I'd be ever so happy if you'd review!**


	4. Dreams

**I'm SOOOOOO sorry for not posting this sooner... I meant to get this finished a few weeks ago.**

**yeah... I have some excuses, but I get the feeling you all don't want to hear them...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Trek or anything related to it. Anything familiar you see here does not belong to me. I don't even own the guitar T.T**

**also, if anyone is interested in a Sherlock Holmes story, let me know in a review please :) I'm thinking about writing a AU story set in a modern day high school. It'd be based a bit more off the movie than the books (I love the books, but I think the movie would be easier to write for xD)**

**Okay, I think I've kept you from the story long enough... here it is! sorry it's not as long as i planned.  
**

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McCoy came into work the next day a little earlier than usual. His newest patient (or rather, his patient's illness) seemed complex and presented an exciting challenge. His medical curiosity was one of the reasons he was so eager to get to work and look over Rachel's test results but there was another.

The night before, he had a dream involving Rachel. _She was just sitting there, reading a book like she had been when he first saw her. She looked rather peaceful as she read a passage that made her grin broadly. He noticed Jocelyn starting at her, her face unreadable._

_Jocelyn walked up to her and stood in front of Rachel, arms crossed, waiting for the teenager to notice the older woman's presence. Rachel didn't seem to notice until Jocelyn started tapping her foot impatiently. Rachel's head twitched up, her muddy green eyes staring up with curiosity as her fingers subconsciously placed a bookmark between the pages._

"_Can I help you?" Rachel asked amiably. If she was annoyed by the interruption, she didn't show it._

"_He doesn't belong at the hospital," Jocelyn spat, hands moving to her hips._

"_I'm sorry?" Confusion crossed Rachel's face. "Who doesn't?"_

"_My husband, that's who," Jocelyn replied, "Leonard McCoy."_

"_But he's a doctor," Rachel replied calmly, sensing Jocelyn's furious disposition. "Shouldn't he be at the hospital?"_

_McCoy was distracted from the conversation, though it didn't stop him from noticing Rachel stayed calm and collected while Jocelyn remained furious, when he felt a tug at his hand. He looked down to find Joanna looking up at him with sad eyes._

"_Can you help her, daddy?" Joanna asked with a small voice._

"_I'm going to try, Joey," McCoy smiled. "But first I have to find out what's wrong with Rachel."_

"_I meant mommy."_

"_What's wrong with mommy?" McCoy knelt down so his face was closer to Joanna's._

"_Can you help her?" Joanna asked again, ignoring McCoy's question. He heard footsteps coming closer and he turned his head up._

"_Pick one, me or __**her**__," Jocelyn told him, her arms back to their crossed position. Her face held none of the anger that it did earlier but her eyes were dark and narrow, showing she was still mad. Joanna sensed her mother was acting strange so she ran over to Rachel, smiles crossing both of their faces._

"_I'm your wife," Jocelyn continued. "I'm your priority, not __**her**__ and not the hospital."_

_McCoy stood up and looked past his wife and at his daughter and his patient. Rachel had a brilliantly white guitar out and was playing while Joanna was smiling and dancing._

"_You can only pick one," Jocelyn reminded him._

Though his dream didn't make him impatient to get to work, he was eager to get away from his wife, afraid his dream would cause him to give her a funny look and earn himself another yelling at.

He couldn't help but yawn as he walked through the automatic door. He brought his arm up to cover his widened mouth which blocked his view of the lobby of the hospital and he didn't get a good look until he got to his desk. There weren't many people there, just a receptionist, a few nurses and Dr. Hartell.

His early appearance didn't go unnoticed by Dr. Hartell but she didn't say anything. Instead she just walked over to his desk and set down a PADD, muttering a hello as she did so, and walked away.

McCoy picked up the PADD and scrolled through the test results. As he went through the list, he muttered 'normal' to every category until he reached white blood cell status. The results didn't make sense. The count was normal but it appeared as if there was something attached to the cells. McCoy clicked a few buttons, trying to see if the test results had been able to figure out what the supposedly-parasitic substance was but the computer classified it as 'unidentified virus- non-contagious-possibly harmful.'

McCoy frowned and rested his chin on his hand. He made a mental list of all the tests he could do on the virus. The first on that list was to ask Rachel about the shots she had received six years ago.

-

McCoy lightly tapped on the door to Rachel's room and waited for an answer before walking in. Rachel was reclining on her bed, a journal propped up against one of her thighs and a pen in her hand. Rachel greeted him and motioned for him to sit in the arm chair across the room.

McCoy noticed Rachel's guitar case leaning against the chair. It was open to reveal an old, rather worn looking guitar. It was a light brown color, same as the majority of acoustic guitars McCoy had seen. It was nothing like the shiny white one he had seen in his dream.

"The test results came in this morning," McCoy began, watching Rachel's face carefully. The girl had set the journal on the bedside desk and was sitting with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. "Everything's normal except for your white blood cells." He went on to explain the results and how the computer was unable to identify the virus.

Rachel didn't say anything. She just sat there and nodded, biting her lip as she took in the information. McCoy gave her a few moments to digest the news completely before speaking again.

"Rachel, I need to know why you got all these vaccinations," McCoy said as he showed her the list on his PADD. Rachel hesitated a moment before sighing and looking back at McCoy.

"I suppose you have clearance to know, seeing as how you're my doctor… it's strictly confidential," Rachel started, still unsure if she should tell McCoy. The doctor nodded encouragingly and Rachel continued.

"I got them because I went off planet for a summer. I went to the Federation colony Tarsus IV."

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**Review Please :) and don't forget about the Sherlock Holmes story! It sounds like something fun to write but I'll never post it if no one reads it!**


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ

Sorry, folks, it's another Author's note.

Okay, so I have this story pretty much planned out in my head but I'm not sure if I actually want to write it. If you still want to read this story, just let me know and maybe I'll be motivated to continue writing it. Otherwise, I'm fine just keeping it in my head.

If I do continue to write this story, I'm going to change some of chapter four around because I've come up with another idea for what's wrong with Rachel.

Thanks for taking the time to read as much you did :D it really means a lot to me especially since I've been so horrible about updating. I mean, really, only four chapters? I planned this story out an entire year ago!

So I would appreciate it if you'd review if you still want to read it. If I don't get any reviews, I just won't add more to this story and I'll probably delete it.

Thanks!

-puddingcup


	6. The Story

**-peeks out from behind a shield- Uh, hey guys and gals... Please don't hit me for taking so long to write this! And please don't hit me when you realize this isn't exactly my best work. I actually kinda hate this chapter. Not the stuff in it, but just the fact that it took me FOREVER to write it and that it's really choppy because I didn't know what to write. I thought this would be kinda cool to write but then I realized that it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be D:**

**So, I hope you, who have so wonderfully decided to stay with me on this story even though I'm a terrible updater, yes, you are happy with this. I'm not but maybe someone will. Also, thank you so much for sticking with me (if you're saying 'I'm not sticking with you, what are you talking about?' then I ask you this: Why are you reading this if you quit reading the story? hmm? Food for thought xD). Reviews mean the world to me.**

**Oh, and I think I said something about changing chapter four around, but I don't think I'll do that. I think I can work with what I wrote. I started to change it but then I realized that I liked my original idea better because it meant that I wouldn't have to invent some new element or compound or something. Okay, well, I still have to do that, but... I don't know, just... ignore the thing I said about changing chapter four :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the DVDs my family bought.  
**

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"Tarsus IV? That's the one where Kodos butchered all those people right?" McCoy asked, his eyes widening in surprise. He had a hard time believing this girl had been to such a planet, seen such horrific events, but he could find no reason to doubt her, especially since it would explain why she had visited a psychologist six years ago.

He did a quick mental calculation and realized the date of her vaccinations were around the same time of the famine. A quick glance down at his PADD and a few pressed buttons told him the vaccinations were only two months before the terrible event.

"Yeah," she replied, her unfocused eyes lowered as if she were recalling an unpleasant memory. "It was… bad." She was silent for a moment before snapping her head back up in alarm. "You can't tell anyone! The admiral that debriefed all the survivors told us not to tell!"

"I won't tell anyone I don't have to," McCoy promised. "But I'll have to tell Doctor Hartell. She's the Dean of Medicine." Rachel nodded slowly but said nothing. "You can trust Hartell," McCoy continued with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "She takes things very seriously and I think her father was in Starfleet so she'll understand when I tell her it's confidential Starfleet information." Rachel was silent for a few moments, her eyes staring off in space and McCoy let her be for a few moments. "Would you like to talk about it?"

After a slight hesitation, Rachel nodded and hugged her knees to her chest. McCoy couldn't help but notice how young she looked sitting like that. It reminded him of his own daughter.

"The records Starfleet has on file blame both the fungus and Governor Kodos for what happened. They're correct, of course, but they never mention that Kodos had only just taken authority over the colony a few weeks before. He was originally something of a vice-governor but after the sudden death of the actual Governor, Kodos took over. I don't think he ever had any real leadership experience before becoming Governor but the old Governor trusted him and that trust was passed on to the other members of the government. That's how Kodos was able to get rid of half the population with such little interference.

"I don't think he would have had any problems getting people to follow him anyway. Everyone was so scared. The fungus infected the animals' food first. The farmers didn't understand why their livestock were dying so quickly until other people in the town started getting sick too.

"When it was obvious things weren't going to clear up before help would arrive, people started panicking more than before. Mobs were raiding stores that sold food that wasn't made on the colony and some people had even been killed in arguments over food. That's when Kodos stepped in. His original orders were for the police to kill any adult that was fighting over food. He had strict orders to keep teenagers alive though and no one's sure why, even years after the event.

"It wasn't until Kodos realized there wouldn't be as much food as he thought there would be that he ordered his men to kill anyone who was sick, which was quite a lot of people since many people had been infected with the fungus by that time, anyone who was a nonessential adult over the age of forty, or any child younger than the age of eight."

Rachel paused for a moment, watching McCoy's expression. There were many things McCoy wanted to say but all he could manage to get out was "Why?"

"Because he figured people between the ages of eight and forty would have a better chance of survival," Rachel sighed. "And even after that, he went on getting rid of people that he felt would have a better chance to survive. He mostly got rid of adults. He decided that since they ate more than children, they should die first. One adult for two children was what he thought."

"So what did you do?" McCoy asked. He noticed his voice was quiet though he hadn't made it that way intentionally.

"I ran," Rachel shrugged. "Jim and a few other kids about my age decided that we should all run, try to hide from Kodos. We took a few kids that were below Kodos's age line too. We had seen some of them die at the hands of the police and we weren't going to let that happen again if we could help it. I don't know how far we ran before we had to stop and rest, but we ran for a long time, trying to find somewhere to hide. We didn't think Kodos's men would come after us, but they did. Kodos had been 'hiring' some of the older teenagers and even some of the adults that survived his killing spree to act as temporary police officers. The ones that came after us were only sixteen and barely knew how to handle the phasers they were given. I knew them before the fungus hit. They weren't bad people. I was so shocked when they actually fired at us. Most of us got away. Two didn't." Rachel took a slight pause, no doubt lost in her memories, before continuing.

"We lived off whatever we could find which wasn't much. It was late autumn there so most plants had died. Luckily we were found by Starfleet personnel a after a few days. They came earlier than Kodos expected they would come but they were too late to help half the population. I'm glad they at least came that early. Tarsus IV is inhabited by a lot of wildlife and one species is this wolf-like animal only it hunts alone. Good thing, too or else I probably wouldn't be here," Rachel added as she released her legs and pointed to her right ankle. There were old scars surrounding her ankle on all sides. "We were attacked by one of them when we were moving from one hiding spot to try and find a warmer one. It jumped on top of me and tried to drag me back into the thicker part of the forest. Scariest moment of my life. Jim found a stone and bashed its skull into its brain before it could get too far though. We all debated over whether we should build a fire and cook it but in the end we decided it was too dangerous unless we could a way so no one would see the fire or the smoke. Now that I think about it, it was too wet for us to build a fire anyway."

After examining Rachel's scar for a few moments, McCoy ran his medical scanner over it to see if it was still healed or if there was anything to learn. Scans showed nothing McCoy didn't expect but McCoy was still wary.

"The thing wasn't venomous, was it?" McCoy asked as he put his medical scanner away. Rachel shrugged.

"I'm not sure to be honest. It might have been. I wasn't really thinking straight by the time the Starfleet officers found us which was only a day after the bite, but I thought that would have just been from blood loss."

"Do you know what it was called?" McCoy asked, ready to take note on his PADD.

"I never got a good look at it until Jim destroyed its head," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Jim might be able to recognize it though if he looked through the database," she added.

McCoy nodded. "Do you think you can get him to come down here?"

"Sure," she replied, "It's still the weekend so he should be able to come down either today or tomorrow." McCoy nodded and both were quiet for a while.

"Did you learn all the details of Kodos's actions from Starfleet's files?" McCoy asked after a minute or two of contemplative silence. "I can't imagine they'd let you see them." Rachel gave him a small smile.

"If I tell you the answer is confidential, can you figure it out for yourself?" She kept eye contact with McCoy for a few moments, as if trying to send him a message. McCoy got it.

"You mean you actually saw that guy?" McCoy asked, astonished. Rachel nodded.

"Shakespeare mentioned in _Macbeth_ that 'there's no art to find the mind's construction in the face,' and he was right. No one would have thought Kodos would have such a thing just by looking at him."

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**I was so happy that I got to quote Shakespeare xD**

**Anyway, that's the back story I made for Tarsus IV. I tried to stay close to canon but I made some of my own stuff up as well. That wolf thing is my idea too.**

**The thing where Kodos was trying to keep all the teenagers alive was from the Star Trek novel _Academy: Collision Course _and it's not really important for this story. I just felt like alluding to it because I rather liked that book.**

**Review please :D  
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